Structure of a heterogeneous, glycosylated, lipid-bound, in vivo-grown protein crystal at atomic resolution from the viviparous cockroach Diploptera punctata.

ABSTRACT: Macromolecular crystals for X-ray diffraction studies are typically grown in vitro from pure and homogeneous samples; however, there are examples of protein crystals that have been identified in vivo. Recent developments in micro-crystallography techniques and the advent of X-ray free-electron lasers have allowed the determination of several protein structures from crystals grown in cellulo. Here, an atomic resolution (1.2 Å) crystal structure is reported of heterogeneous milk proteins grown inside a living organism in their functional niche. These in vivo-grown crystals were isolated from the midgut of an embryo within the only known viviparous cockroach, Diploptera punctata. The milk proteins crystallized in space group P1, and a structure was determined by anomalous dispersion from the

SUBMITTER: Banerjee S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4937783 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature